Friday, July 14, 2017

Despite calls from the European Union, Malaysian Bar, MADPET(Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture), Amnesty International, FIDH and many others, Singapore still proceeded to execute Prabagaran this morning.In the Malaysian courts, there is a pending application to compel Malaysia to take Singapore to the International Court of Justice(ICJ) on the basis that there have been a denial of the right to fair trial.

He was arrested after drugs were found in a car he was driving. Prabagaran 'maintained his innocence, claiming that he did not own the car he drove and was not aware of the drugs being in it.'.

Did the prosecution prove that the drugs belonged to Prabagaran? No, like Malaysia, I believe Singapore too, relies on that 'unjust' legal presumption - i.e.

If the drugs are found in your possession, it is presumed to be yours UNTIL you can prove otherwise. Well, imagine this. Someone, without your knowledge, puts some drugs in your car. You drive the car, the police stops your car and finds the drugs...How can you PROVE that the drugs were not yours? You can say so...but where is the proof...?? That is why, for 'drugs', the burden of proving that the drug is yours, and you know that it was drugs, should always be on the prosecution? ..

Worse still is the other legal presumption, i.e. if the drugs are above a certain quantity, you are presumed to be a 'drug trafficker', which if convicted, will be sentenced to death. If it was of a lesser quantity, then you may end up being convicted for 'possession', and this carries a lesser punishment...

That is why, as in other crimes, it must always be the duty of the prosecution to prove that drugs found in your possession belongs to you (or alternatively that you knew that you had drugs)...and that the drugs were being transported by you, or being sold by you or being ....that equates to trafficking.

Singapore new laws - before a judge can consider a sentence other than the death penalty, the accused/convicted need to get a 'Certificate of Substantive Assistance' from the Attorney General's Chambers (not the public prosecutors comes from this office).

What is 'subsstantive assistance'? Well, if Prabagaran said he did not know there was drugs in the car he was driving - what 'substantive assistance' could he provide. Maybe, he could tell the prosecution where he got the car from ...full stop, or maybe who gave him the car. Who was the 'owner' of the car - well, that is very easily found out. One can only give information that one possesses - so, did he give 'substantive assistance'. Who should decide? Rightly, it must always be the judge - not the AG Chambers?

Maybe in some other case in Singapore, one of the convicted may apply for Judicial Review of the AG's chambers to issue that required 'Certificate of Substantive Assistance' - then maybe the court will be able to determine whether the AG Chambers was right or not in not issuing the said Certificate...That would be something interesting to look forward...but are Singapore Judges independent?

EXECUTION - well, maybe some believe that an 'execution' will end the efforts to look into the case - to see if miscarriage was carried out. Well, we must not stop ... the fact that Prabagaran is executed should not end our looking to see whether he really was a victim of injustice or not...

In this case, Malaysia and Malaysian political parties also come away in a 'bad light' - When comparing past efforts by the government of Malaysia in other cases like the case of Umi Azlim Mohamad Lazim and Ong Kim Fatt - one wonders why Malaysia failed to appeal for the sentence to be commutted in the case of Prabagaran, and maybe even Kho Ja Bing( a Sarawakian)? So much plea for Anwar's release, but almost 'silence' when it comes to Prabagaran...and maybe other Malaysians wrongly incarcerated. Do these political parties act only when party members/leaders are the victims - but are 'not bothered' when it is other Malaysians?

Prabagaran executed for drug trafficking

PETALING JAYA: S Prabagaran, a Malaysian, who was convicted for drug
trafficking in Singapore, was hanged early this morning after the
country’s Court of Appeal dismissed his application to stay his
execution.

Channel NewsAsia reported that Prabagaran was executed at Changi Prison.

Prabagaran was convicted in 2012 after 22.24g of diamorphine, a pure
form of heroin, was found in his car at the Singaporean immigration
checkpoint as he tried to enter the country.

He maintained his innocence, claiming that he did not own the car he drove and was not aware of the drugs being in it.

Earlier this year, he turned to the Malaysian courts to compel the
government to start legal proceedings against Singapore before an
international tribunal for denying him a fair trial.

On March 24, Prabagaran failed to obtain leave at the Kuala Lumpur
High Court to compel the Malaysian government to start proceedings
against Singapore.

Yesterday, lawyer N Surendran said Singapore’s Court of Appeal had
dismissed Prabagaran’s application to stay his execution pending his
case in the Malaysian courts.

He told FMT the appeals court had ruled that Singapore is a sovereign
nation and that it would not wait for the outcome of proceedings in
Malaysia.- FMT News, 14/7/2017

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